Summary: The JLA discovers the secret behind Project Armageddon, and Robin faces off against--Robin!?
Author's Note: See Part 1
Acknowledgements: See Part 1
Disclaimer: All the characters are owned by DC Comics and Time/Warner; this is an original story that does not intend to infringe on their copyright. Feedback is welcome!
Copyright: February 2003
****
Chapter Two
Day 11300hrs Zulu: JLA Watchtower
Luna
****
Black Canary faced the assembled heroes. The core members of the JLA were present. The Titans were represented by Arsenal, the Flash, and, although she didn't see him yet, Nightwing. She touched her comlink.
"Go ahead, Oracle. Everyone's here."
"Sending now," Oracle said. The wall behind Black Canary instantly coalesced into a live video uplink from Station Alpha-Omega.
"The site is well named," Black Canary began. "The beginning and the end--the power of creation and annihilation." She placed her hands on the podium before her and leaned forward. "Station Alpha-Omega was the storage facility for one of the government's lesser-known doomsday projects--Armageddon."
The others' reactions were a mixture of shock and confusion.
"I don't understand," Green Lantern said. "What exactly is Armageddon?"
"The legendary biblical location of the 'Final War' between the forces of good and evil," the Atom volunteered. "It's detailed in rather symbolic and somewhat obscure language in the Book of Revelation..."
It was obvious to the others that the Atom, a scholar and teacher at heart, was about to launch into what could be a very long lecture.
The Flash glanced at GL, suppressing a grin. GL rolled his eyes upward.
"I know what the biblical Armageddon is, Professor!" GL interrupted. "I'm asking BC what this Project Armageddon entails."
Before the Atom could reply, they were startled by the sudden appearance of Plastic Man's head on GL's shoulder. The widely grinning face was at the end of a ten-foot long elastic neck. As always, GL cringed at his impertinent teammate's actions.
"Yeah, Mighty Mite!" Plastic Man interrupted. "We know what the biblical Armageddon is! But there are other questions that require more immediate answers!"
Plastic Man paused dramatically, inflating himself self-importantly before continuing. He basked in his more serious teammates' long-suffering stares.
"Black Canary, we demand to know why you stopped wearing your fishnets and spiked heels. Come on, Dinah. Your legions of fans beg you to return to your boots--er, I mean, your roots!"
Plastic Man topped off his request by dropping his tongue to the floor and rolling it out several feet in her direction. Black Canary grimaced in disgust at the pink and slobbering, snakelike appendage.
"If that thing touches me, I swear I'll step on it!" she threatened. As if to emphasize her point, a soft hiss followed by a ~phffwwt!~ whispered just as a red arrow impaled itself less than an inch from the tip of the offending tentacle. It vibrated slightly from the force of impact.
"Eeeeeeep!!" Plastic Man managed to squeak. He instantly retracted his tongue and withdrew his head and neck to his seat, the room echoing with the sound-effect of a window shade springing back noisily on its rollers.
Black Canary looked across the briefing room and met Arsenal's eyes. His mouth twitched a little, and he gave her a quick wink. She responded with a curt nod.
The Atom, meanwhile, was staring blankly at the strange antics of the JLA's resident clown-hero. Glancing at GL, he then grinned sheepishly.
"Sorry." He sat back down on Martian Manhunter's broad shoulders and whispered into the Manhunter's ear. "Kyle reminds me of some of my less erudite students at times. I keep forgetting he's a hero in his own right."
The alien grinned slightly at the comment.
Black Canary was about to continue when a dark figure stepped into the circle of light. Batman. Black Canary rolled her eyes upward.
"Now what?" she muttered. Without speaking, Batman handed her a micro-disk. As she closed her fingers around it, she lightly touched his fingertips. Batman released the disk with an almost imperceptible hesitation.
Nightwing stood in the shadows, silently observing. Perhaps the others in the briefing room did not notice the two heroes' momentary awkwardness, but it had been obvious to him. By the same token, Nightwing was also aware that just a few moments prior, Batman had readied a Batarang and would have thrown it if Arsenal hadn't beaten him to the punch.
Whatever had happened between Bruce and Dinah, the problem was not interfering with Bruce's need to protect those he loved. Nightwing could only hope that their mutual discomfort wouldn't interfere with the mission. He watched as Batman retreated back into the gloom and then returned his attention to Black Canary.
She gave the room a quick once-over and began.
"As I was about to say--" She paused, deliberately glaring first at the Atom and then at Plastic Man. Both men had the grace to look embarrassed. "Station Alpha-Omega was the storage facility for a little known government project, codenamed Armageddon. According to sources, Armageddon was--for want of a better word--a doomsday weapon. A weapon of last resort."
"What exactly are the capabilities of this 'doomsday' weapon, Dinah?" Superman asked.
Black Canary pressed a small button on the podium.
"I'll let the government-sponsored digitized proposal speak for itself," she said. Instantly, the screen behind her came to life.
****
Centered at mid-screen in bold letters, they read: PROJECT ARMAGEDDON--A PROPOSAL.
For the next fifteen minutes, the JLA heroes watched fascinated as the initial proposal for Project Armageddon played out before them. They listened in various states of attentiveness as the voiceover extolled the 'benefits' of total planetary annihilation.
"With the myriad threats that our world faces today from much more scientifically advanced societies such as Apokolips, supernatural threats such as the recent so-called 'Day of Resurrection,' and even superpowered heroes gone rogue--such as, Hal Jordan, AKA Green Lantern, King Orin of Atlantis, AKA Aquaman, and even Superman--the United Science Institute, under a generous endowment from the United States government, proposes the following, last-resort countermeasure."
Before them an animated model of the solar system appeared. "Earth--our home, our refuge in the vast inhospitality of space. In our solar system, perhaps in our entire galaxy, our lovely blue planet is unique in that it is capable of sustaining life as we know it. But what if we weren't unique? What if there were more than one Earth? What if there were a multiplicity of Earths?"
The animation suddenly split into a long line of Earths trailing to a vanishing point in the far distance.
The camera next zoomed into the Rocky Mountains super-secret compound. The animation tour took them deep underground to a vast complex filled with an immense array of heretofore never seen banks of supercomputers, monitors, maps, and personnel.
Soldiers with blue United Nations patches proclaimed the project as an international endeavor. The voiceover continued.
"Because the threat of advanced races and rogue meta-humans concerns the entire world, we propose that an international coalition under the auspices of the United Nations should head this project."
Scenes of a multinational force working together followed.
"Project Armageddon is classified as a doomsday weapon--a weapon of last resort should the Earth face a threat so dangerous, so destructive that our continued existence becomes doubtful; however, this does not fully explain the theory behind Armageddon."
The animation zoomed through several corridors, descended down dozens of floors, finally arriving at the main storage chamber. The stunning images that greeted the heroes were something out of science fiction. An enormous red/white/purple vortex of barely contained energies swirled within its transparent titanium steel housing, barely hinting of its unimaginable, infinite power.
As they watched, the heroes blinked at intervals, unsure of the images that flashed before them at lightning speeds, leaving behind the vaguest of memories that defied Truth, as they knew it. Uncertain of what they saw with their eyes, they saw with their hearts.
~The Flash glimpsed a girl with his distinctive red hair and lightning insignia zip by in an eyeblink. "I'll show Dad. I'll prove that I can carry on the legacy."~
~Wonder Woman saw herself rescuing a pilot from a burning plane, and later kissing him. "Steve, I love you," her mind whispered.~
~Superman saw a boy dressed in his costume and exhibiting his powers playing with a flying dog. "Tag! You're 'It,' Krypto!"~
~Batman saw Bruce marry Selina, while Dick stood by him as best man. "I do," he said, placing the ring on her finger.~
~Nightwing saw a breathtakingly stunning girl about his age with his dark hair and Starfire's unusual eyes. "Daddy!" she cried, gazing at some unseen horror.~
Their concentration was broken by the narrator's voice continuing his presentation.
"Project Armageddon--the power of total destruction and the power of creation." The voiceover paused dramatically.
"The Book of Revelation, Chapter One, verse ten states--'Have no fear of the sufferings to come...Remain faithful until death and I will give you the crown of life.'
"With Project Armageddon we now have the ability to destroy the earth and every living being on it--to include those who would enslave us--and simultaneously defeat the greatest enemy of all, Death! Thus restoring 'the crown of life.' How, you ask? By tapping into the limitless, unexploited resources of the multi-verse!"
****
Some of the gathered heroes expressed their doubt over this proclamation.
"He's nuts!" GL called out.
"Impossible!" the Atom said skeptically.
"Multi-verse? You mean there might be more than one of me?" Plastic Man asked, excitedly pounding a very much-annoyed Aquaman on the back. "Oh, just think--all those lucky girls!" He immediately shaped himself into a happy Valentine. Aquaman crossed his arms and rolled his eyes upward.
"Land dwellers," he muttered.
****
"A small test conducted two years ago resulted in a slight temporal displacement. Police, television stations, hospitals, even government offices were inundated by phone calls from people who were dismissed offhand as being mentally disturbed, drunk, or in a drug induced hallucination.
"People complained of seeing 'ghosts'--acquaintances who'd been dead for some time. Or doppelgangers--images of themselves at a younger or older age. Within a day after the experiment, the complaints dropped to a trickle, then to nothing. When investigators actually looked into the complaints, the person or persons who put in the complaint claimed to have no memory of the incident."
The camera zoomed out to a live-action shot of a real person. Superman sucked in his breath. There before them was the urbane image of Dr. Paul Westfield, former Director of Project Cadmus.
"With the rapidly increasing possible threat to humankind's very existence, we--the United Science Institute--respectfully submit our proposal."
Westfield smiled directly out at them and the video winked out.
****
"Paul Westfield?" Superman demanded. "I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him." He stood and addressed the others.
"Westfield is the scientist behind the so-called 'cloning experiments' where Cadmus tried to duplicate me and ended up creating Superboy. Westfield's intention all along was to try to control the super-clone, so he used his own DNA to trigger the cloning matrix. Thankfully, Superboy escaped before Westfield was able to carry out his plans. Does Cadmus have anything to do with this project?"
Black Canary shook her head. "They disavow all knowledge. However..." she held up the micro-disk that Batman had just handed her. She glanced at Batman. "Would you care to introduce this, since you brought it?"
Batman moved to the podium. The light from above threw odd, angular shadows on his masked features.
"The following was extracted from encrypted data that Oracle was able to decipher from something that Arsenal managed to get his hands on." He paused in annoyance as the Flash pounded the weapons master on the back.
"Way to go, Quiver-breath!" the Flash exclaimed. Aware that dark, brooding eyes were glaring at him, the Flash turned a scarlet shade that matched his uniform and quickly melted into the shadows.
Batman continued in his low, gravelly voice.
"Much of the data Oracle decrypted is similar in nature and it involves, in some cases, secret identities of many of us here. Oracle sent us a sample with some of the least damaging evidence to personal lives. The rest of the data has been destroyed in order to protect the individuals involved."
He stole a surreptitious glance towards Nightwing who had joined the Flash and Arsenal. Batman then completely floored his fellow Justice Leaguers by allowing the barest ghost of a half-smile soften his grim features.
"At least, that's what Oracle said."
He pressed a button and stood back as a gritty, surveillance video began to play.
****
Nightwing watched with growing astonishment. Before him he was seeing the impossible--himself! Or at least a much younger version of himself as Robin, talking to and working side-by-side with Robin! That is, today's Robin--Tim Drake.
Nightwing thought he was going to have a headache.
"This never happened," he muttered. "It's impossible--!"
The Flash was standing next to him and gave him a sympathetic smile.
The surveillance video began with the Riddler running across the bank's open atrium. Within seconds, he disappeared around a corner just as Robin--Tim--showed up, giving chase.
"Sound!" Plastic Man shouted. Nightwing looked over. The oddly shaped hero was eating popcorn and sipping a cola from an oversized paper cup. He had extended his lips out into a thin straw-like protrusion and was thus gobbling his drink. Nightwing shook his head.
Batman pressed something in his hand. The audio immediately kicked in. They could hear heavy breathing as Robin slowly took his bearings.
****
"Now where--?"
A small, colorful figure landed in front of him. Robin instantly went into action, fully extending his Bo staff. The smaller figure threw something black, while leaping over Robin's head, using the teen hero's own shoulders for leverage, and easily dodged the reinforced polymer staff.
"Hey!" Robin cried, toppling over backwards, his legs becoming entangled by a monofilament line being trailed behind the black object. As Robin fell backwards on his rear end, his opponent straddled him at a low crouch.
Robin's eyes widened. Standing directly above him was a little boy--not much over four and half feet tall--dressed in the old style Robin costume.
The boy-Robin squatted down to his eye level and pressed his forefinger into Robin's chest.
"Okay, bub," the younger boy began. "Who are you, and what are doing in that getup? Are you going to a costume party or something?"
****
Nightwing blushed in the dark as some of the heroes laughed good-naturedly at the sound of the still-childish voice.
Cries of "How cuuuute!" "Never realized how young he was!" "My goodness, he's little more than child!" resounded through the briefing room.
****
"I could ask you the same thing!" Robin retorted. To the smaller boy's astonishment, Robin freed himself and quickly executed a backspring out of the way. "And now for some answers, kid!" Robin assumed a defensive stance. The boy followed suit. "Who are you, and why are you dressed in the old Robin costume? What are you doing here? I'm after a dangerous criminal. A little kid like you could get hurt."
"Hey, who're you calling a little kid? I'm Robin, the Boy Wonder--partner to the coolest guy in Gotham City! And I've been doing this since I was nine!"
"Oh, yeah? How old are you now? Nine and a half?"
"I'm almost eleven, smart-guy," the younger Robin retorted. "But that's not gonna matter to you when I knock that smirk off your face."
"Look, kid," Robin said in a placating manner. "We don't have to do this. I mean, I really don't want to hurt you. It's okay to play Robin, the Boy Wonder--I mean, I'm kinda flattered, but please. I'm a trained martial artist--!"
The younger boy leaped, spun and kicked in a dazzling display of acrobatics and martial artistry. Robin managed to avoid the full force of the kick.
"You also talk too much! Sheesh! And Batman says I've gotta learn to zip it!"
"Impressive, kid. Where'd you learn the fancy move? At your local Tae Kwan Do school?"
"Batman taught me that move."
"Yeah? Pardon me if I don't believe you," Robin said. As he spoke, he dropped and struck out with a scissors kick, knocking the younger boy off his feet.
"I learned this little trick from Lady Shiva!" Robin explained. To his surprise, the younger Robin managed to right himself when he lost his footing, and instead of falling, flipped out of the way.
"Lady Shiva?" the kid sneered. "I guess that explains why you fight like a girl!"
****
Several of the assembled heroes in the briefing room burst into appreciative chuckles at the younger boy's comeback.
****
Rather than leaping to his feet and continuing the fight, Robin studied the younger boy for a moment. Finally, he held his hands out on either side and called for a timeout.
"Okay, kid. Look, I'm beginning to believe that you're who you say you are, because only you could've done the move you just did."
The kid looked at him with a blank look. "Huh?"
****
Nightwing smiled to himself as he watched. The Flash surprised him by suddenly putting his arm around his neck and pulling him in close in a rare show of affection.
"You really were great back then, buddy," the Flash whispered. Nightwing looked down at his boots, embarrassed.
"Cut it out, Wally," he protested only half-heartedly.
****
"Look, kid, how about a truce?" Robin asked.
"How come?" the boy-Robin asked, his small chin jutted. "How do I know I can trust you? I mean, you're dressed in some kind of weird version of my costume. And you claim to be 'Robin'! But I'm Robin! Batman's my partner! He wouldn't replace me. I know it!"
Robin held his hands out in a placating gesture. "Look, kid--you have to believe me that I'm a friend. Honest! In fact, you're like an older brother to me. You've helped in my training...even approved Batman's decision to make me his partner."
The younger Robin stood, his hands on his hips looking suspicious, but faltering. "Why should I believe you?"
"Because I'm your friend, (Blank), and I wouldn't lie to you."
****
Nightwing's head shot up. There had been a definite dead spot where he assumed that Robin had called him 'Dick.'
****
The boy-Robin's eyes widened, his small mouth forming an 'O.' "How did you know my name? No one's supposed to know that!" His whole demeanor changed, becoming instantly dangerous.
Robin didn't take a counter-stance. Instead, he remained standing in an open pose, his hands out to his sides.
"(Blank), I swear that we're friends. I figured out who you and (Blank) were a long time ago and never told anyone. Look, kid, if I tell you a secret that only a family friend would know, would you believe me?" He grinned. "Besides your secret identity, I mean."
The younger Robin looked at him through narrowed eyes. "Go on," he said, ready to pounce.
Robin grinned slightly. "You have the world's biggest crush on Batgirl, but you're too embarrassed to tell her--"
The younger boy instantly leaped at him, tackling him to the ground, and ended up on top of him.
"Hey, get off me!" Robin protested.
"You take that back! It's not true!"
"Is too!" Robin taunted.
"Is not!" the younger Robin's voice sounded like he was close to tears. "You take that back, or I'll--"
Robin caught the little boy's wrists in a powerful grip. The younger boy was clearly upset because he should've been able to break the hold.
"You can't tell her! She-she'll laugh at me!"
****
His younger self's stricken look tore at Nightwing's heart. Had he ever been that vulnerable?
****
"Hey, kid, don't worry. I'd never betray a trust."
"Does she know?" the kid asked fearfully. Sitting back.
Robin smiled indulgently. "Nah. I mean, how could she? You haven't asked her to marry you or anything like that have you?"
The younger Robin giggled, getting off the older boy. "That's silly. Batgirl's way older'n me! She's in high school!"
"Ah...older women. Can't blame you there, kid. Older women look pretty good to me, too."
"That's what Batman said," the boy-Robin said giggling. Turning serious, he added, "I don't understand what's going on. How can I be here with you? In the future? This is the future, isn't it?"
Robin shook his head. "I don't know, kid. But once we catch the Riddler, what do you say we go ask Batman?"
The younger boy grinned broadly. "Yeah. He'll know what to do. He knows everything!" He paused, and then asked solemnly, "Did he adopt you, too? Is that how come you said I was like your older brother?"
Robin put his hand on the younger boy's shoulder. "No, kid. Batman and I are just partners, but he's still your dad."
The kid's eyes lit with pleasure. "Come on--let's go catch that loser, the Riddler! He won't stand a chance against two Robins." He jumped up on a railing overlooking the atrium below. He was obviously ready to leap out into the open space below.
"Hey, whoa there, partner!" Robin called. "We can't rush headlong into trouble like that. Didn't Batman teach you better?" The younger boy nodded, embarrassed. "Why are you in such a hurry, anyway?"
"I'm not s'posed to be out 'cause it's school night," the boy-Robin said hanging his head in guilt. "Major math test tomorrow." He suddenly looked worried. "I'll be so grounded if I fail math this term!"
Robin grinned slightly. "Tell you what," he said, shooting out a jumpline. "Follow my lead, and I'll give you some math pointers afterwards. Math's my best subject."
"Awright!" The younger boy didn't bother with a safety line. He dove gracefully, somersaulting several times for the sheer fun of it. At the last moment, the child acrobat grabbed an exit sign to break his fall.
Both Robins landed on the bottom floor at the same time and quickly disappeared in the direction the Riddler had been headed.
****